Vietnamese Food and Cooking

New Food Truck Royal Wings Specializes in Grilled Jumbo Wings on the Fly

There's a new food truck in town specializing in a dish that not many have tackled via mobile kitchen: grilled chicken wings. Based out of Aventura, the truck hit the streets several weeks ago, proudly serving up fresh-grilled chicken wings in delightfully unique sauces. For $10, owner Leanna Marti ... More >>

Should Florida Judges Be Allowed to Facebook Lawyers?

So like we were totally in traffic court the other day and who comes up as the presiding robe on my docket but ugh omg Judge Sanders -- right, the same creep-o who was jamming up my Facebook page with friend requests last spring break. I know, totally f-king awkward, right? Hellz no I never accepted ... More >>

Saigon Tokyo in Greenacres is Truly a Hidden Gem

When I am feeling guilty about my recent eating habits, I like to head over to Saigon Tokyo in Greenacres. Nothing gets me back on the right track like eating a huge bowl of pho, and Saigon Tokyo prepares it consistently well. First off, please don't judge this place by appearance only. It looks lik ... More >>

Kick Start South Florida: Miami's Michael Diaz and his PepperJelly Sriracha

Kick Start South Florida is a new feature highlighting local foodies and food-related projects on Kickstarter from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade. Clean Plate Charlie will profile them here to support and promote food-related crowd-funded projects in South Florida. Spread the word. Share the lov ... More >>

Pho Vi Brings the Vietnamese Craze to Pedestrian-Friendly Downtown Hollywood

View a slideshow of Pho Vi.

Pho Vi Brings the Vietnamese Craze to Pedestrian-Friendly Downtown Hollywood

This week's restaurant review is about Pho Vi, a Vietnamese restaurant that opened in March in downtown Hollywood. In the past few years, Vietnamese cuisine has exploded on the contemporary food scene, thanks in large part to a filling and fun-to-eat dish called pho -- beef broth and noodle soup th ... More >>

Michelle Bernstein Wins Miami Cochon 555

​Michelle Bernstein of Michy's won last night's Cochon 555 at The Four Seasons in Miami, an event in which five chefs each cooked a whole heritage pig --offal and all-- for judges and a several hundred adventurous guests. At the announcement of the win, the crowd held up flutes of sparkling r ... More >>

South Florida's Status as the Country's Melting Pot Makes for Some Great Ethnic Eats

Kapow! Noodle Bar: Restaurant Crib Notes

​Kapow! Noodle Bar chef Roy Villacrusis won the "Grand Chef Throwdown" at the fifth annual Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival last night, a five-day benefit for the James Beard Foundation. Villacrusis, who helmed the short-lived Kubo that earned New Times' Best Restaurant in Palm Beach in 2011, com ... More >>

Saigon City: A Banh Mi That Does The Trick

​There's a sizeable Vietnamese population in DC where I had moved from, so it's easy to find decent pho and a respectable banh mi. Here? Tougher to find either: It appears South Florida isn't having the same banh mi love affair as elsewhere, which seems about right, since Vietnamese immigrants don ... More >>

How a Rice Cooker Saved Me From a Lifetime of Prostitution

​Cooking is hard, or so I was brought up to believe. I wasn't told this but rather deduced it from two facts: My family was full of people who'd spent decades cooking for one another, and almost none of them seemed to be very good at it. So what was the point? If a lifetime spent grimly oozing swe ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: No. 39 -- Grilled Pork, Shrimp, and Spring Roll "Bun" From Saigon Cuisine

John Linn​As a countdown to the Best of Broward Palm Beach 2011, coming in June, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to Deirdra.Funcheon@BrowardPalmBeach.com.No. 39: Grilled Pork, Shrimp, and Spring Roll "Bun" From Saigon ... More >>

Caribbean Kimchi: A Recipe From Bimini Boatyard's Chef Michael Bennett

Chef Michael Bennett and wife serve up dishes at the Kampong in Coconut Grove ​Bimini Boatyard's Chef Michael Bennett has a joy for both cooking and life. In our recent interview with Chef Bennett, we learned about his passion for bringing the flavors of the Caribbean home to south Flor ... More >>

OED Deems 'Muffin Top', 'Five-Second Rule' Legit

flckr/pgsvenskBanh-mi to other sandwiches: "I'm in! I'm in! The Brits love me!!"​Recently, the Oxford English Dictionary (widely thought of as the authority on the English language) went through a major update that included many food-related words and phrases. The words were deemed common enough i ... More >>

Mama Asian Noodle Bar: Awesome Thai Food in Coconut Creek

Pho 78 Vietnamese Kitchen Opens in Sunrise

John Linn​Mark down another Vietnamese restaurant in West Broward to try. Pho 78, the second location of the Pembroke Pines-based eatery, is now open in Sunrise. The restaurant specializes in pho (pronounced fuh) that most respected of Vietnamese soups that is completely customizable. It offers a ... More >>

Grilled Pork Bun at MAMA Asian Noodle Bar

John Linn​Pictured above: One steaming hot grilled pork bun. No, not pork bun as in the sticky, Chinese dim sum stuffed with bbq pork. Pork Bun as in the Vietnamese vermicelli rice noodle dish, bun thit. It's from MAMA Asian Noodle Bar, a new pan-Asian eatery in the Promenade at Coconut Creek.

Make Boba at Home With WuFuYuan Tapioca Pearls

John LinnThese tapioca pearls cost about $2.50 for a bag. It makes two to three batches.​I love a good boba (or bubble) smoothie after a big bowl of pho or a banh mi. There's something so fun about sucking up cold, sweet smoothie and finding those little tapioca pearls capriciously running up you ... More >>

$10 Lunch: L.E. Tapioca & Sandwich

John Linn​The deal: This Vietnamese lunch counter serves spicy banh mi sandwiches and the requisite boba teas to cool your mouth off afterward.

100 Favorite Dishes: Beef Pho From Basilic Vietnamese Grill

Photo by flickr user Bright Like Neon.​ As a countdown to the Best Of Broward Palm Beach 2010, coming in May, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to John.Linn@BrowardPalmBeach.com.

Green Papaya Vietnamese Cuisine in Coral Springs Is Worth Finding

Green Papaya Vietnamese Cuisine in Coral Springs

John LinnThe "BBQ" pork chop dinner at Green Papaya in Coral Springs.​For a fun, casual take on Vietnamese, Green Papaya Vietnamese Cuisine in Coral Springs is a great deal. The above dinner is called a Hau Giang "barbecue pork chop," but is actually a breaded piece of pork loin that's been seared ... More >>

At Basilic Vietnamese Grill in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Everyone's a Chef

Side Dish: Saigon Cuisine

Order Up: Basilic Vietnamese Grill

​ Vietnamese is fun food. Playing with the various condiments available -- fish sauce (nuoc cham), chili paste, soy, lemongrass and garlic spread, hoisin, sriracha, and more -- requires a bit of lightheartedness coupled with a willingness to experiment. But the results are very exciting, especiall ... More >>

Dish Deconstructed: Hu Tieu Xao Ga

John Linn​ Pictured: Stir-fried rice noodles with chicken and asparagus (hu tieu xao ga).Chicken: Salt. Pepper. Fish sauce. Soy sauce. Rice wine vinegar. Olive oil. Hot pan. Sear.Noodles: Blanch.Asparagus: Salt. Pepper. Olive oil. Saute. Finish: Hot wok. Vegetable oil. Noodles in. Fish sauce. Soy ... More >>

Stealing From the Restaurant: Tuna Burger with Teriyaki Aioli

Bill Citara​When John Montagu, First Lord of the Admiralty and avowed Satanist (!), asked his valet to slap a hunk of meat between two slices of bread in 1762, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich could hardly have known that almost 250 years later a restaurant in Boca Raton would nestle a juicy slab of gr ... More >>

Pho Real: Basilic Vietnamese Grill in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

​I took a trip to the beach last night and sank into some Pho at Basilic, a Vietnamese restaurant that took over Tedesco's old spot on Commercial Blvd. The tiny bistro serves a mean bowl of the stuff, fragrant with anise and ginger and loaded with strips of thinly sliced steak that cooks inside of ... More >>

A Burger Goes to Spain

Clean Plate Charlie is obsessed with burgers. Hey, it's better than sneaking out of the governor's mansion to rub the bacon with former Argentine TV reporters or performing unnatural acts on small farm animals.   Charlie's burger fetish plays itself out by coming up with patties that chann ... More >>

Vietnamese Banh Mi Meets All-American Burger

Photos by Bill CitaraOK, so if you tried out last week's little lesson on pork-stuffed shrimp, you've got three-fourths of a pound of ground pork, rather assertively seasoned with black pepper, garlic, cilantro, and fish sauce. What do you do with all that pig? Well, you could freeze it for cramming ... More >>

Bye Bye Saigon

Tet à Tet

Ringing in the Year of the Rat at Sakyo

Risky Business

Jinja makes a stab at CityPlace

I'm O-Cây, You're O-Cây

It's a quick, 20-minute drive to the heart of Saigon

Best Sub

Bánh Mí

Saigon Dreaming

No night should be a slow night at this Vietnamese joint

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

Pho Nam Do Vietnamese Noodle House

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

Pho Nam Do

Why Thai?

Thai-An Market brings Southeast Asia to Southeast Florida

The Wheel Deal

When it comes to serving great Vietnamese cuisine, Red Cyclo puts the pedal to the metal

House Sweet Home

Once you get past the smothering service, you'll love the selection of delicious Vietnamese cuisine at Lê's House

Good Eating, Vietnam!

Indochine

Good Munching, Vietnam